1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information distribution system and an information distribution service. The present invention is preferably used for, for example, a case where advertisement or commercial information is provided by using a facsimile terminal.
2. Description of Related Art
In conventional art, providing material for advertisement or commercial (hereinafter, material for advertisement or commercial is referred to as “advertisement material”) to a specific customer has been conducted by mail, such as direct mail, or by directly inserting the advertisement material in the customer's mailbox by hand (hereinafter, referred to as “direct posting”). In recent years, a method of using electronic mail via a PC (personal computer) or cellular phone is employed.
However, the conventional advertisement method of employing mail, such as direct mail, or direct posting is problematic in that costs needed for advertisement material, such as costs for printing the advertisement material itself and the envelope used therefor, are increased. Also, this method is problematic in that it is impossible to flexibly change the content of advertisement according to the respective customers, and that a long time is needed from shipping to delivery.
The other conventional method of employing electronic mail via a PC or cellular phone has the following problem. Specifically, the transmission capability is so poor and the screen size is so small that sufficient amount of advertisement image cannot be transmitted. Accordingly, limitations are imposed on the data size, and expressiveness, of the advertisement image. In the case of employing a PC, a further problem arises that it is rare for a customer to read the received electronic mail timely, thus lowering promptness.
The reason for the problem of the electronic mail employing a PC is as follows: Regarding electronic mail, unlike cellular phones each of which often has a function of sending, upon receipt of an electronic mail, the receipt notification and/or the body of the electronic mail to the cellular phone, PCs lack such a function. Accordingly, the user usually fails to know even the receipt of an electronic mail until he performs an operation to take out the electronic mail from the receiving mailbox.
Note that even with either the direct mail or the electronic mail via a PC or cellular phone, it is difficult to confirm that the user has surely seen the content of the advertisement and accordingly the effect of the advertisement (hereinafter, occasionally referred to as “advertisement effect”) has been produced, thus lowering reliability. For example, it may happen that most of the delivered direct mails are discarded without being read, and that most of received electronic mails are deleted without being read.
Further, in the case of a cellular phone and PC, an advertisement, which contains an image other than a text, is distributed in the form a file attached to an electronic mail (hereinafter, a file attached to an electronic mail will be referred to as “attached file”). However, if data form of the attached file does not conform to the data form which can be treated by the mailer provided in the cellular phone or PC, which has received distribution of the advertisement (throughout the present specification, distribution of advertisement is occasionally “advertisement distribution”), it is likely to happen that the user cannot see the advertisement normally. Therefore, it may happen that the number of the users who have actually seen the advertisement gets smaller than the number of the destinations to which the advertisement is distributed. Accordingly, it is difficult to forecast or manage the advertisement effect.